Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - YOUR PATH TO GREATNESS - Motivational Speech Compilation

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now" - Chinese Proverb Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  In this episode, Eddie Pinero dives deep into the fleeting nature of time and the boundless opportunities that lie ahead. As time slips into the past, it leaves behind memories of what could have been. But remember, the best time to act is now. Embrace the present moment and its infinite possibilities. Learn from the past, but move forward with conviction. Transform your pain into purpose, your struggles into meaning. Adjust your perspective and see the present as the beginning of a new chapter. You were made to rise. 🌟 

Time comes and it goes. It's here and then it's gone to be remembered and never seen again. But as it's making its way into the history books, it leaves something behind. The past tense. Painting our intentions and unfinished goals as could-haves. We wanted, we hoped, we planned, but didn't. And in the mind, it's as if the opportunity somehow, how escaped. But that couldn't be further from the truth. There's an old Chinese proverb that

states the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Look, you have no control over what's gone. You can't do anything about it, but dreams do not have deadlines. There will always be the present moment. And to hear the phrase, I've always wanted to, but X Y Z or I wish I could but I'm too old or I miss my shot that is fiction when there's an infinite amount of possibility in front of you who cares about what slipped by learn from it and remake history so that next time you look back there won't be regret or disappointment maybe you've always wanted to start a business but now you have a job and a family well instead of rationalizing move

toward that dream little by little, one step at a time. You've missed your shot at a promotion, so work harder, put yourself on a pedestal so high that it will be impossible to get passed up next time. The past is not telling you no. It's giving you insight and momentum for the future. It simply isn't worth cowering to past deadlines when you can be creating new opportunities,

when you can write your right own story from this moment forward. You were made to rise, to take your pain and convert it to purpose, to take your struggle and transform it into meaning. In a world of concession of self-sabotage and defeat, you need to rise. And so it's critical that you look around where you are now and adjust your lens. It's critical that you see the present moment, not as an ending, the culmination of wrong turns or broken plans, but as the beginning of what all that will be turned into. This start of the next chapter, a new road, because you were made to rise.

Life has an interesting way of not pushing us to be more until our backs are against the wall, until we've fallen or found ourselves where we don't belong, but it's down in the ashes that were presented this blessing, that were given the chance to be more than we've ever been. You weren't made to look around and call, this diminished reality home, no you were made to rise. Life is about decisions, what to accept and what to cut away, and it's in our moments of

distress, we must find our calm. When we feel low that we must remember the heights we're capable of obtaining. Look, our greatest invitations, they often feel like defeat. like hopelessness, but see beyond that narrative. Look in the mirror and know that what looks back at you isn't the problem. It's the reason you'll succeed. Someday you'll see the present as the moment that made you, the days that shaped you,

just as a sculptor arrives at his masterpiece. So stand up, brush yourself off and look up because that is what. where you're going. Now is where it begins. You weren't made to accept what is. You were made to rise. The hard thing brought me through hell, but also to that which exists on the other side. The hard thing prompted me to question and doubt, but also provided the pieces I used to build my confidence little by little. It made me ask the tough questions, the ones maybe I didn't want to hear the answer to, but also gave me the power to transform those answers I didn't like.

The hard thing meant forfeiting being the expert in my world in exchange for the role of student in a foreign arena. Gave me new ladders to climb. new possibilities to reach for. It showed that true growth requires a willingness to be the beginner. It took some people out of my arms, my circle, my work, and in some cases my life altogether, but always seemed to open the door to those souls better aligned, to those conducive to the journey and the process. Let's remember what the hard thing is. Beyond the pain, because we all know it does bring that,

beyond the challenges, because there are certainly many. Beyond all that exists the hope and the change and the promise. Robert Frost says the best way out is always through. Through because it's the chaos, the haze, the darkness of night that shapes us. It's in being broken. being broken, that we learn to rebuild our world with the pieces, and perhaps most importantly. We learn that such a rebuilding process is possible to begin with, that the now is not mandatory or permanent.

The hard thing, as it turns out, is nothing more than a transaction. Turbulence for the view above the clouds, fear in the moment for confidence in the future. It's learning that although life sometimes appears to paint a picture of conformity and helplessness, there's always a path leading to the very place we need to go. It just asks we find the courage to walk it. Churchill has said the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. And this beautiful message rings true.

Because from the difficulty is the advantage. And sure, our first instinct is to see the problem. Our eyes tend to initially fixate on that which is unfortunate. But beyond that is where we get the most incredible things life provides, as if one is removing the shell or outer layer in order to get to the nutrients in the center, the ingratiates, the center, the ingredients required for growth, the pieces necessary to experience life at its fullest. And so we must be reminded that those opportunities, they're not rare, they're not reserved for

everyone but you. They just tend to disguise themselves as the things we're most inclined to disregard or walk by. But if one finds the courage to move into them, through them, If one can see the difficulty not as a deterrent but as a bargain, they'll be given everything on the other side. Reality is not changed with the magic wand or the granting of a wish. It's from staring down the heart thing and moving directly into it one little step at a time. There's an old idea that once you've started, you're halfway there. How does that make sense, one might wonder?

Once you've started, you've only just begun. And that's true, technically. But here's the thing. The journey, the ins and outs, ups and downs, trials and tribulations, they can all be dealt with. They knock us down from time to time, no doubt. But we learn, we adjust, and carry on as we move forward. Most success stories, they're crushed, not because of that adversity along the way, but because they never begin. They never take shape or materialize. We can't make them real in our heads.

We can't convince ourselves that they'll ever be anything other than fiction. We think that's for someone else. We look around and assume that reality is different than my reality. And overcoming this mental constraint is always the most challenging step. And that's saying, the one I continuously find myself coming back to, human beings, always follow through on who they believe themselves to be, continues to be true. If you don't believe you're worthy of something, its pursuit is lost before it began. So while the mind tries to paint pictures of how scary that road is ahead,

how it's too different or big or complex. Understand that should you move forward, you'll find all that complexity can be broken down. One day, one situation, one little step at a time. The only real demon here is the possibility of inaction because you couldn't make yourself believe it. You couldn't see yourself at the top of that, mountain. And so the front door was never opened. Emerson says, hits your wagon to a star.

A beautiful reminder that that star is proof your dreams are real and only as real as the conviction with which you move towards them. Green light your own glory, your own contentment. Because contrary to what we might think, no one comes up and be sure. that upon us. To live life fully is a decision. Decision, Latin root words, cut off. It's removing and abandoning your restraint in order to be more authentically you. In order that you'll give yourself permission to chase down that which makes you feel alive

and soak up all that aligns with your heart and soul. you start your halfway there. And oh, that first step, often perceived as the beginning, but in actuality, a point few ever give themselves the luxury of experiencing. Step one, believe it's possible. Step two, believe you're worthy. Step three, go. Everything else works itself out.

You're capable of dancing through life's kids. chaos, of managing the world's unknowns. So know that, understand that, but most importantly, be one of the few who gives themselves permission to experience that. And it starts... What is the complex, but an accumulation of that which is simple? What are big things, if not just a multitude of little things? There's comfort in the understanding that all we have in life, all there is, is simplicity, easy to understand pieces.

It's just that sometimes we stack them so high that they start to take a new shape. But like Greg McKeown references in his book Essentialism, the power isn't always in acquiring answers. You already have them. They're in front of you. The power is in cutting away the things that don't need. Removing all that stands between you and your ideal existence. And I think that's one of life's great misunderstandings. We don't need to find more.

We need to remove that excess until we're face to face with what matters. And to adopt this principle, it's nothing short of liberating. Chaos, confusion, disorder, they don't imply that you lack the right things. They suggest you haven't stripped life of the wrong things. You have not simplified. A thousand miles is intimidating when you look at it holistically. It's a long journey. But it's just a collection of steps, and well, shouldn't we find solace in the fact that anyone can take one step?

It's not a game of complexity. It's a game of understanding what's in front of you. And what's in front of you is always manageable. So much of our stress stems from forgetting what that journey is made of. Whether it's a change in career, mastery of an art, some kind of personal transformation, the result we want. When looking at it from the starting line, it's too complex. to understand too many pieces stacked up.

So let's break it down. Let's find the foundation. What's really there? What are the one, two, three things we need to do? What is that golden question? What matters? If you lose sight of that, then you will stumble through life.

I've learned this. I've lived it. The time I take to myself every day is invaluable to me because I ask myself those two questions, what matter and what are the simple steps I need to take? What can I remove? I was talking about this during an interview this week, my personal growth.

And one of the most important aspects has been the understanding and the zeroing in on what's important. I used to take so much pride in composing the background music to these speeches, end to end. I used to love to be able to say I did it all. That was so I thought the great differentiator. But ultimately I learned to take a step back and ask what matters here. What do you care about?

It's the storytelling that I love. It's the impact. And let's be real. No one cares who wrote the background music. It's holistically. How does the piece make you feel? Right? And this understanding allowed me to cut away.

License the music. Save two days a week, a choir, clarity and realize my goal is not to be Mozart. My journey is to be one of the great communicators, storytellers of our time, and if a day goes by where I'm not taking a little step towards that, it's the wrong move. Small example in the grand scheme of things, but right on point. It's the power in understanding what matters that makes a difference that allows you to grow, evolve. And I'm confident that this not only applies to long-term pursuits, but also our challenging times, the dark moments, the periods of uncertainty and discontent. Same concept.

Where do you want to be and how do you get there? What's the simple thing you can do to close that gap? Because you are never helpless. You can always do something. And my friends, those little somethings ultimately evolve into everything. And when we put our phone away, step beyond the noise, spend time with ourselves, we can see how much of life is running in place. Stacking and stacking pieces that aren't even part of the masterpiece we're trying to assemble. If you want answers,

Start with the understanding that they're buried under mountains of things you don't need. So cut away. Cut away the people and places and things that convolut your story. Cut away the exhaustion of time that provides no value in return. Cut away the thoughts that make life more complex than your journey from where you are to where you'd like to be. As you stand right now, You have everything you need and there's nothing greater than that, nothing more powerful than that understanding. So why not step outside the complexity that you've manufactured that you're living in into a world of clarity, simplicity, and capture what matters?

Naval Ravicon has said inspiration is perishable, so act on it immediately. And what he means is those fleeting moments of excitement, where you have an idea, a concept, those must be cashed in. They must come to life, otherwise they're gone before they had a chance to change anything. See, what we don't really talk about much is that they must come to life. is that inspiration is only as valuable as one's willingness to act upon. Just like a seed without the right nutrients can't grow, or a wheel is only useful once it touches the ground.

It's the world able to act upon these objects that makes them powerful instruments. And so with that inspiration, that momentary jolt you've done, captured, the faster you act upon it, the more likely something comes of it. Inspiration transforms into action, which creates momentum and then more inspiration. And so goes the powerful cycle we must seek to create. Inspiration to action, to inspiration to action. I talk all the time about the myth of perfection. The idea that the perfect moment is out there,

that someone or something will give you permission. But no, that green light is self-created. And when it arrives, don't waste it. It's not about reaching a mountaintop right away. You don't need to create the perfect solution right now. But give yourself a chance to see those wheels hit the road. Allow that cycle of inspiration and action to propel you forward. Because so much of life comes down to what you did when that fleeting moment arrived,

what you turned it into if you gave it life. A lot of people out there think that the secret to life is having the right answers. But I'm here to tell you it's the courage, the willingness, the strength to move forward before you have them. To take that little bit of inspiration into this sunset. Let it mean something. Let it be a beginning. So when you look back years from now, you'll see that single decision to act meant so much more than what it felt in the moment. That single step you courageously took was everything.

If someone were to tell you life is easy, they'd be incorrect. If they were to tell you there's a specified path to contentment, they'd be misinformed. If they were to tell you there's a book of answers to every question you'll come across, they'd be misled. The point is not that life is easy, predictable, or defined. The point is that despite the fact that it's none of those things, you're capable of making something from it. That from a seemingly endless barrage of unknowns, exists the pieces to build something truly extraordinary.

I came across a quote a few years ago from Abraham Maslow, And a concept that was in Ernest Becker's book, The Denial of Death. And the idea is we are simultaneously gods and worms. Every once in a while you come across an idea that changes the way you see things. That's definitely one of them, right? A duality that is perpetually under tension. Gods and worms. We're animals.

We're flesh and bone eroding by the day. We're given a temporary stay on a giant rock rotating around the sun, while simultaneously equipped with the power to not only be aware of that finitude, but to transcend it, to dream, to see things that are not yet there. Our minds are miraculous. We are both gods and worms. So what do we do about this? How about use the fact that we're going to die, the fact that in many ways we don't have control, the fact that life is messy and unpredictable and often a maze of complete chaos, to rather than shrink because of it, take off the guardrails and reach for the heavens.

To put things into existence that do not yet exist. Why not go all in? After all, the thing about living is the saying goes, is that no one makes it out alive. No one hops on the roller coaster to constantly look at their watch to dwell on its temporary nature. No, it's to enjoy the ride. And what is our time here but a few short rides around the sun? So when it feels like life is too big, when the day overwhelms or disintegrates into chaos,

don't fixate on the rocky nature of the world around you, but on your ability to take it all and make it mean something. Cherish the idea that although everything around you is dictated by natural laws and constraints, your mind is bound by nothing. where you seek answers, you will find them, where you pursue more, you will unlock it. Our finitude, our challenges are essential to our existence. They remind us that we have nothing to lose, that the song will end, so why not dance, like it's your last time?

Because sure, in time we will be dirt for worms. But that's exactly why, as long as we're here, will live to, in our own unique way, bridge the gap between the ground we walk on and the heavens above. Don't stay down in the ashes. use the pieces to build new things. Don't dwell on what hurts. Use the lessons to chart a course to happier days. Don't fixate on what's missing. There's an endless supply of what's not there.

Instead, rejoice over and capitalize on what remains. Don't take misfortune personally. Remember that life is neutral. It's you who has to decide whether to shrink in its shadow or grow because of it. Don't compare yourself to people around you. We only see highlight reals. We only see the best of our neighbors, but they have their demons, their problems, their struggles too. Instead, compare yourself to who you were yesterday.

That's the only worthwhile benchmark. Don't exhaust time wishing you had someone else's gifts or natural abilities. Sure they have theirs, but you have yours too. Explore and go all in on your unique superpowers because that's exactly what they are should you choose to bring them to life. Don't let the gravity of the moment keep you down. You might feel lost or defeated, but it's not always about feeling good. Sometimes it's whether or not we can move forward when we don't.

So step into that unknown, knowing sure you might not be at your best, but that lives are often defined during our imperfect moments. waste energy on hope. The future is a construct, an idea that you have no control over, and that will make you its slave if you allow it to. See the value of right now. Right now you have the power to change, adapt, evolve, to make things happen. Right now is all you'll ever have to control. Build, tear down, retreat. elite, advance, follow or lead, everything is a choice. Life provides the components to go up or down, left, or right.

It's a perpetual fork in the road. Endless opportunities. But you are the architect. You decide what they become. There's an old quote that stays 80% of life is showing up. Now, showing up means many different things to many different people, but But the idea is not complicated. You can't do anything of significance unless you have first and foremost arrived.

Which brings me to today. See, I had a list of concepts I've been excited to talk about things that I've either read or have been recent epiphanies in my life. And I can't wait to share those with you. But this morning, oh, let me tell you about this. morning. I'm finding the energy to do anything. It felt like trying to squeeze blood from a rock. I woke up with a headache, exhausted because I didn't sleep at all the night before. And you know that feeling. Like when you didn't sleep at all the night before, you're oddly, constantly reminding yourself the next day that you didn't sleep. And everything just felt off. And really,

as I'm speaking now, things still kind of do. And so I got up and I sort of played with the idea of taking today off altogether. Maybe I'm due for one anyway. I thought about resting. The little devil with the pitchfork on my shoulder continuously reminded me how great sleep would feel. And I was sitting there kind of weighing my options. Took some IP-profen, started the coffee, sat down on the couch,

just kind of looking at the wall, what to do, what to do. But realistically, I knew. and I want to explain why. Over the years, I've taught myself through repetition that's sitting down and writing and recording, unless I plan intentionally to do otherwise, is it non-negotiable? It's helped me see that the goal,

in any meaningful pursuit, should be getting to the point where, despite the circumstances, you show up. Stephen Presfield, whose voice often echoes in my mind when I come face to face with these situations. He wrote, art is war. Between ourselves and the forces of self-sabotage that would stop us from doing our work. The artist is a warrior.

Artist being anyone bringing something to the world that does not yet exist. And he goes on to describe the battle with the mind over city. down in that chair and writing when we know we must write but don't want to. When a tired or distracted mind begins looking for off-ramps, as mine clearly started doing this morning. These seemingly trivial moments, when any rational soul could argue for the validity of postponing their date with Microsoft Word, will they come to matter more than ever?

Because greatness is a byproduct of intentionality. If you become accustomed to breaking promises to yourself, if you leave that door cracked for exceptions here and there, it will ultimately be kicked open. And that's why I inject little reminders like that into my life to keep that mental muscle working. For example, there can never be dishes left in my sink when I go to bed. Why? Because if I skip it once,

there will always exist reasons to skip again. It's a very easy thing to not care about. Because here is the reality. Progress is a lifestyle. Growth is a lifestyle. At least if we're talking about any meaningful type of evolution. I just finished reading, It Takes What It Takes, by Trevor Maud.

One of those three to five hour listens on Audible, depending on how fast it's playing, really packs a punch. And I'm going to be diving into a few of his concepts a little more in the coming weeks. But one thing he discusses that I found incredibly valuable is the illusion of choice. And what the illusion of choice highlights

is that there are a set of behaviors that must be carried out to be effective. The idea of alternate roots is an illusion. There are no choices when it comes to what's necessary. We know what must be done to win. Now, knowing that is one thing. Knowing that and having to propel yourself to action when you feel like garbage is something different entirely.

But that's why it's so valuable to get to that place where you can take the emotion out, remove the internal deliberation, and automate the things you know are going to help push you to be that better version of yourself. In other words, you show up for you, period, and that is a non-negotiable. The level we all need to get to. And I'm thinking about this, drawing parallels to a lot of different aspects of my day, right?

The interval training I have this afternoon. When you're exhausted, 40 minutes in and are switching from squats to mountain climbers or whatever it is, right? Instructor makes the announcement. I don't think about anything. I don't give myself a chance to try and rationalize any weakness. I know. If this is important to me, keep that door shut. No thinking just doing next.

Simply doing what you always do, what you've signed up for, cannot be self-perceived as some monumental sacrifice. No, it's just what you do. It's neutral. Sometimes you feel like it. Sometimes you don't. But you do. what you do. And that puts you on track to accomplish some incredible things. And so remembering this,

ultimately pushed me through that studio door this morning and placed me down right in front of my mic. Sure, I had to adjust some things. Definitely picked some, you know, mellower music. There's going to be no crescendos today, or my head will explode. But this is not torture. In fact, I'm really happy with the way the episode's turning out. I would have missed out on something that I think is going to be pretty valuable in a variety of ways. But what I'm telling myself is that this is not a victory. It's certainly not defeat. It's just what I do.

And so the question worth asking yourself, when facing the adversity life presents, and whatever arena you were in, is are you willing to show up for you? Can you turn that internal deliberation switch off when it comes to the necessities before you? Minimize that rationalizing that I battled with this morning. We don't need or want that. There should be no thinking, no crack doors, no metaphorical dishes in the sink.

If you decide something is important and you sign that dotted line when it's time to execute, you act. and then you move directly onto the next. The goal is to not even negotiate with weakness. Now that's not to say Pressfield's aforementioned war of art won't rage on as you journey to the new horizons you've set out for. But just like anything, it's an understanding that will help you focus. will help you say no to the distractions and the minutia and continue writing your story, constructing your reality line by line, and piece by piece.

You can be your greatest fan and also your biggest critic. In fact, not only is it healthy, it's necessary. To be there for yourself, celebrate that commitment to show. show up, but also to hold yourself accountable for growth. Because to be great is to know there's more in you, to understand that there's greatness waiting to be extracted from the miracle that is you. Here are two words. I want to take a look at both of them. Consistency and adaptation. Consistency first. Why? Because consistency gets you in the door. It's the cost of admission.

Consistency is you showing up for yourself. Day in and day out. Creating mastery and competence through repetition. Manufacturing a data set that will be used to guide your journey, taking a once stagnant idea and putting it into motion. Consistency is doing what you promised yourself you'd do when you said you'd do it. Why? Because that's who you are. You create goals and then conquer those goals.

When your head hits the pillow at night, you may be tired, you may have struggled. You may have swung and missed. You may be wondering how things unfolded the way that you may be folded the way they did, but you showed up. So celebrate that. Celebrate yourself, be your biggest fan. Because the world can't take your will to step forward and cannot seize your consistency,

not without your permission. So other than part one, let's call consistency the commitment to show up for you. Now the second piece. Consistency's older brother. Adaptation. See, that consistency, like we just talked about, it will get you in the door.

It signs you up for the game. But it guarantees nothing. See where consistency puts that pen in your hand, paper in front of you, patch you on the back, where consistency gives you a job. chance to write your story, one's level of success or achievement relies on their ability to adapt. To do the thing that's so hard for people to do, look in the mirror and ask, how can I be better?

I've been consistent for 30 days, sure. Here's what's right. Here's what's wrong. Now it's time to adjust, to be critical. to understand that expecting more of the self does not in any way diminish the task at hand. It gives you room to expand into that next version of yourself in a way that simply showing up doesn't.

Without a willingness to adapt, you get Einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. You get day after day of wondering why this square, peg won't just save us all the trouble and go into the round hole. Without a willingness to adapt, we move for the sake of moving and we work for the sake of working. But if we could find it within ourselves to look at the data that's been acquired day after

day and use it to help guide ourselves to that North Star, we'll find strength. To seek out the delta between where we are and where we want to be, that is power. But it calls for more than just showing up. It calls for looking around. It calls for observing and then adapting. So yeah, your greatest fan and your greatest critic. Be there for you. But don't let yourself get away with good enough.

Showing up is critical, it's powerful, but it's just the beginning. If your eyes stay open, if you're willing to both love yourself and improve yourself simultaneously, all the world becomes available to you. There are no mountains you can't climb or oceans you can't cross. And sure, the world will do what the world does. It will place challenges before you. But rather than those challenges being the reason you can't, rather than accepting those challenges as a permanent reality,

they become nothing more than the next puzzle to be solved, the next little adaptation that's required of you. You show up, you self-assess, you adjust, and carry right on towards that horizon again and again. So when you find yourself first, frustrated or up against that wall, remember, you are building your ideal reality. Proud of yourself for showing up, for being consistent. Because as dire as it might seem, you overcame a lot to get here.

But also know that the challenge at hand is not an indictment of you or your goals. It's your chance to review the game plan and adjust. Your opportunity to do what so many fail to do, not shrink from the world, but Adapt yourself to it, grow because of it. Today is your opportunity to take what the world gives you and build something new. In 1519, Ernan Cortez arrived on the shores of Mexico with roughly 600 Spaniards, all of whom quickly realized that a mighty empire waited for them not too far inland. Cortez, inspired by Spain's current golden age and the encompassing sense of ambition and adventure

that gave life to the whole journey to the new world, he pushed his men forward into the unknown, ordering them, as Winston Reynolds writes in Hispania, to destroy the ships behind them. Symbolizing the valiant push forward with no return, everything would be able to destroy the ships behind them. everything would be on the line. And over the years, this act has become folklore, evolved into the famous phrase we all know, burn the boat. Burn the boat.

Why is this an important idea? Well, I look at it in very simple terms. Doing anything meaningful is hard. Not planning on it or hoping to do it, but actually doing it. And when you're in the heat of metaphorical battle, right, when you're on your way facing the adversity and the challenges and the hardships, whether it's social, physical, or mental, that growth comes with discomfort. Our instinct is to want out.

When we are in pain, our brain's default is, how do I stop the pain? And what I've learned is that if you give yourself off ramps, you'll take them. If you allow for a plan B, it will become more and more appealing. If the mentality is give it your all until it's inconvenient, well, we all know what happens, since excellence doesn't allow for skipping the inconvenient. When you can't turn around and get back on those boats, you're forced to create outcomes. Because suddenly everything depends on it. Does this mindset come easy?

No, I don't believe it does. Took me into my mid-20s to realize, hey, I'd never done anything without a life-wrapped or a safety net. I always carried option B, C, and D around with me in my pocket. And the result was above, average at plenty of things was great at none. But when your back is to the wall, and those demons are closing in, it's incredible what you can do, which you can create, you will shock yourself with your competence and your ability, waiting to be unlocked.

Now, I'm not saying keep jamming this square peg in the round hole if you know something's not for you. I'm simply saying if there is something you want, something that you know in your soul is pulling you in, and you really want to see that thing come to fruition, you can't have pre-made off-ramps for yourself when the inevitable difficulty comes in, because it will. It always does. I refer to those moments as checkpoints, areas of internal deliberation, high security, guarded gates where many arrive, but few get to pass through. Not because they couldn't, but because the cost of access was expensive, too expensive, mentally, physically, and socially expensive, taxing. Most simply say no thanks. They get back on that boat, waiting for them by the shore they arrived on and

return to the world they've always known. The way I see it, this is not about right. right or wrong. No, that's missing the point entirely. I see the question being, how bad do you want it? A little? A lot? How about enough to go all in?

Because if you want to see levels of yourself, you never thought possible. You need to kick the ladder down behind you. Force yourself to rise to the occasion amidst the chaos. Map your path straight into the darkness of night. Not because it's the most convenient, but because you gave yourself no other choice.

You burned the boats and are content to watch their flames slowly disappear behind you as you go where few have gone. What does it mean to be a little better better every single day. James Clearers noted that if each day you improve by only 1%, you'll be a full 37 times better in a year. That's an almost unfathomable number. Unbelievable transformation. Imagine being 37 times better at what it is you're looking to improve on. 37 times more efficient or skilled.

all because of a 1% per day commitment. Almost sounds too good to be true. Here's the catch, though. 1% doesn't seem like much. Which is good, one might think. You know, that should make it easier. Well, sort of. The easier and more seemingly trivial something is to accomplish,

the easier it is to dismiss it as well. We've all been there that, eh, maybe not today, maybe tomorrow. No big deal. We don't lose anything. And that's what we must learn to wrestle with. Jim Roan puts it this way. He says, being successful is easy. The issue is that being unsuccessful is easy too.

Saying yes to the little things you know you need to do is easy. But so is saying no. Putting your phone away to work on something of substance. Yeah, that's pretty easy. But watching just one more TikTok or Instagram or YouTube video, that's easy too. Putting your shoes on, going for a walk or run, heading to the gym. Hey, procedurally, pretty easy. Not that complex.

But talking yourself into just going tomorrow instead. Also a rationalization that's pretty easy. easy. And that's essentially the question. Which easy are you going to go with? How do you put yourself in position to select the right easy? Well, like so many things, it starts with the worldview and flows out to the tangible actions we take in support of that worldview. First things first. We have to know that the advantage available is seeing the small things as so much more than small things. It's refusing to fall victim to the disappointment and burnout associated with hoping for one huge jump, a miracle solution, the answer that will change everything.

That's deceiving. Winning looks small and consistent. Progress is boring. It's mundane. it looks like deciding on what matters, and then making a pact with yourself every day to keep your own promises. When most would fall off or push things to tomorrow,

it's seeing your commitment as everything. Knowing that the people who manufacture significance in their lives, they treat what others would call silly and trivial as life and death. They make the details into the whole storyline. So yeah, it might be easy for someone else to walk away. But when you have given yourself no other option but to succeed, the little steps to make it happen requires zero thought or internal deliberation.

The person who gets into shape over the course of six months, they're not going to be the one who found a secret diet, bought a piece of equipment on Amazon. They didn't do the necessary thing here in the last everything here and there when they had their fleeting moments of inspiration. No, they made better, consistent decisions. No to the soda, yes to the water, no to the alarm, yes to the run, no to the Netflix and yes to the gym. Both options were easy in the moments in which they arose. But each time only one option mattered. And that's what it's about. Tying the prolonged gratification

to something that means the world to you, where each step is not just a step, but one step closer to the moon. So no, it's certainly not that a can of Coke or dessert or the day off will kill you, but flip the narrative. It's that when you do stay true to your mission and the promises you make to yourself,

you get something so much more back. It's not a what, will I lose by skipping this 1%. No, in a world where excellence compounds, it's look what I am becoming. And this decision is an investment too good to pass up. And every decision to move forward, to embrace the things that align with your true North, is a nod to that future self.